One of my students recently mentioned that she gets bored at Mass and has trouble paying attention. I’ve totally been there, so I encouraged her to start asking why we do, say, and have each individual thing. Why does the priest wear a tablecloth dress? Why do we say “holy” three times (isn’t that redundant?)? Is the offertory just a quick break/fund raiser/choir concert, or are we supposed to be doing something? Why wine and not grape juice (hell, why not Gatorade?)? The more we understand the Mass, the more full, active, and conscious our participation in it can be. The person who demands answers to his questions will inevitably encounter the Person of Jesus Christ, physically present in the Mass and offering the best, most fulfilling, most joyful life. After we encounter Jesus Christ, nothing is the same as it was before.

On Friday, the Church celebrated St. Paul’s conversion. We at SSP cheer particularly loudly for our patron’s 180 and invite you to do the same. Here’s a video of Dr. Scott Hahn, a convert himself, explaining why Saul was such a formidable persecutor of Christians and how/why his encounter with Jesus Christ changed everything.

When a person discovers the truth of the Gospel, he can hate it like Saul, or love it like Paul, but apathy ceases to be an option.“Through the intercession of Paul and through his outstanding example, the grace of conversion is something that might be unleashed in ways that we don’t even have enough faith to pray for.” – Scott HahnSt. Paul, pray for us!